


Power

by Oienel



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Science Fiction, Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, Angst, Disability, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-18
Updated: 2018-11-04
Packaged: 2019-04-04 09:39:15
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 8,492
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14017449
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Oienel/pseuds/Oienel
Summary: Intergalactic quest for powers, a.k.a. fantasy meets sci-fi.You leave your career as a military tactician/navigator to join a rogue crew and you find yourself accompanying them in their quest for powers, which is more challenging that you've ever thought it might be.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> It was only matter of time before someone would break and write it. And well, I broke.

“You are all nuts, you stupid fucks!”

The roar of engine drowned all the sounds – so the outrage didn’t reach intended recipients. The steps and excited shouts were also inaudible over the ruckus. Metal plates were shaking and protesting under your feet as you ran, seeing only backs of those running in front of you. You could smell dust and oil, and the engine’s exhaust. 

“Head down!” You were not sure if you heard that, or if you read shouter’s lips, but you ducked. You value your life more than your grudge against that guy. You only heard a whirl of plasma when it flew over you.

An explosion shook the ground, and you tripped, falling on the metal floor. Its uneven surface hurt your hands when you tried to protect your face. Piercing pain exploded in your side and your vision turned blurry.

Suddenly everything disappeared. You could no longer hear the roar of the engines, no longer could you hear plasma whirling. The only thing you sensed clearly was cold fingers around your wrist. The moment they let go of you, you fell on the floor - the same type of floor, but away from the danger. You knew that because you could hear plasma behind you, and you rolled onto your back to see what is happening.

Another RF-05 was there, standing among the ruins. Debris from other machines obstructed its movements, but it didn’t matter when its flamethrowers were still intact. You were going to kill them all if you make it out alive.

You saw Jongin disappearing, only for him to reappear again near the machine, with his gun already raised before Kyungsoo grabbed your arm to yank you to your feet. Once more your vision wet white, but you gritted your teeth and ignored it. Sehun was right behind you when you ran further into the ship. It was not that big of a vessel, but it was big enough for your breath to become laboured by the time you reached the bridge. You tried to sit behind your console when the ship shook as another explosion ripped through it, pushing you to your knees. Sehun went tumbling as well, and you could only imagine how pissed Kyungsoo must be in the machine room.

You used your chair to stand up, immediately strapping yourself in. Your side was radiating pain, but you had more important things at hand. Sehun managed to take a seat as well, and he connected his com to the steering port. You did the same with the navigation - because that was your job. You could have performed it way better if they tried to listen to you at least _once_ in a while.

You were military trained tactician-slash-navigator. You knew everything there was to know about four-dimension hyper-space navigation. You could have waltzed your way into the hemisphere of this god-forgotten planet - so unimportant that it only got a tactical number and not a name, without a single scratch on the cover.

But, of course, they knew _better_.

The screen lit up, and you entered go-no-go coordinates, as Sehun called Kyungsoo.

“Dude, ready yet?” It’s been months and you still found it hard to swallow. That was not the way you’ve been taught to communicate aboard a ship.

You could see on your sensors sudden spike in energy levels just outside of the vessel.

“Was that Jongdae?” You asked, not expecting an answer. You knew it’s Jongdae. You were so going to kill them all.

“Dude, how about moving your ass a little quicker? Don’t you see we are in an emergency?” As if to confirm Sehun’s words another explosion shook the ship. You were _so_ going to kill them.

“Stop bothering Kyungsoo if you don’t want to end up with a wrench up your ass.” You are not sure if newly arrived Junmyeon was warning or threatening him, but Sehun didn’t answer - only his shoulders showed the tension in his body.

“Engines are green. I am ready to pull up the force fields,” you reported, and Sehun grunted his agreement. Your console showed another spike of electricity outside the ship, and it was way too close for your liking. It could fry your systems in the blink of an eye.

“Get those stupid shits out of there!” you growl, mindless of the fact that you were speaking to the captain of the ship. It’s not like they cared, anyway. Junmyeon turned on his com and started speaking, as Kyungsoo voice appeared in your own.

“The third engine is wonky, but if we circle power through the fourth one, we shouldn’t have problems.”

“Unless Jongdae fries it,” you murmured, and you sent the copy of the coordinates to Sehun’s panel.

“Unless Jongdae fries it,” agreed Kyungsoo, and you could hear the humour in his voice. “But then we will get him to bridge the circuit with his own body.”

“The only downside is that he would survive it.” Another spike appeared on your screen, and you groaned, seeing how close it was to the third engine. Of course, it was wonky when those idiots played around with RF-05 just outside of its circuit. There was a much less significant spark of electricity on the bridge, and you looked behind your shoulder to see Jongin disappearing, leaving behind slightly dishevelled looking Minseok. You could see the smoke coming from one of his sleeves, and you didn’t understand why he was allowed on the bridge looking like that. He was a fire hazard. But no one said anything when he sat down in his chair, taking ship’s defence system into his reign.

“Or we could put Baekhyun to do it. He won’t survive.” You smiled under your nose, thankful for Kyungsoo’s the joke in this stressful situation.

“How are we on fuel cells?” you ask instead of answering.

“Enough to get us out of here.” Another minimal shift of the electricity inside the vessel and Jongin appeared holding Chanyeol. He shot Junmyeon slightly mad stare.

“It’s about to burst,” he said and disappears, and, man, you hated when he did that. But the message he conveyed was horrifying. You have already seen one RF-05 explode, and really you didn’t want to see that happen again. Especially so close to the ship that still didn’t have its force fields up.

“Sehun, move that old lady!” called Junmyeon, and you tried to ignore how corny that sounds when your fingers danced on the keyboard to ensure that all the protocols were ready. There was no exchange of orders and nearly no communication. It was not military. Sehun got the command, right, but he was going to fulfil it as he pleased, and you could only do your best to keep up.

Hoping that Jongin would be fast enough to bring Baekhyun and Jongdae back.

You monitored the systems as Sehun started the ship.

“Strap yourself in, Kyungsoo.” You warned quietly knowing how shitty of a pilot Sehun was. Nothing could be done about that anyway. Pain in your side surged as the vessel started vibrating.

There was one spark of electricity, and you looked around despite yourself, and you saw Jongdae laying on his back laughing madly with his shield at his side.

You turned around once again, finally able to focus on your stats with Jongdae safe inside the ship. You were accelerating away from the surface, and you monitored the distance making sure it would be enough for Jongin to come back. You needed one more spark of electricity inside the ship.

Which came just as an explosion shook the planet - you could see how it shook it, moving it slightly off its axis. Shockwave shook the ship. It was definitely not a time for you to relax - you didn’t know how the fluctuation of the force would change the gravity around you, and you still had to break through the orbit without burning the whole ship down.

You checked your coordinates once more, even if you knew that mathematically they are correct. And if maths was right, then everything would be.

Sehun’s approach angle was correct, and he was keeping the line straight, which was unusual for him. The third engine was still wonky, but the circuit was stable, and it appeared to be enough to break free.

“I am raising the fields,” you announced, knowing that no one needed you to do that. You were expected to act, not talk.

Sehun grunted something in answer, and for the first time since he started the ship, his hands grabbed the steering pad. The tip of his tongue was visible as he focused on bringing you safely through.

You held your breath when you hit the last barrier, the force pushing you into your chair, but as soon as it started – it was over. You were outside of the planet’s gravitation force.

And you were happy to be leaving Planet 0506 behind you.

Sehun put on the autopilot, and you reentered new coordinates. You checked the panels, more as an afterthought, and then you turned around.

Time to rip those stupid shits apart.

Junmyeon was sitting in the captain’s chair, Chanyeol was on the side, buried in his code, Minseok changed defence system’s panel into a simulation, and Jongdae and Jongin were sitting on the floor, resting against the wall.

“… where is Baekhyun?” you asked, and Jongdae burst into laughter. You were not sure if it was a sign of madness. “Jongin? Where is Baekhyun?”

“He wasn’t there,” shrugs Jongin, and you could feel how blood drowned from your face.

“What do you mean he wasn’t there?!” you hit the belt’s buckle on your chest, and you stood up already furious. It irritated your side, but you ignored it once again. “ How could he disappear?”

“Wait, wait, it’s ok, nothing happened…” Jongdae stood up as well, raising his hands as if to soothe you. It only irked you more.

“You left him on that fuck-up planet!” you howled, feeling how the vessel vibrates under your feet.

“Yeah, but we will come back for him,” mused Chanyeol. “It’s not like he can escape from there.”

“Have you all gone mad?! Haven’t you seen the RF-05’s explosion?! The planet moved out of its axis, can you imagine what the weather is going to be like?! Typhoons, tsunamis, volcano’s eruptions!” Chanyeol and Junmyeon exchanged worried glances. “And just last week you left Yixing on 1485!”

“And we are now coming for him,” said Junmyeon stoically, and you hated them all.

“What is wrong with you all?” You asked weakly. No one answered, so you shook your head and left the bridge.


	2. Chapter 2

The ship was bigger than one might have thought. But the reason for that was not a smart use of space, but rather butchered insides. Randomly removed walls and even more random screens and bulkheads dividing space. But the worst part? Naked cables running along all the visible surfaces. It was a fire hazard, it was generally a _hazard_ , not to hide them inside the walls. And that was also the main reason for all that space on the ship. Had it been another vessel, cables would have been hidden, walls taking up space.

“Hi.” It was soft and cautious, and Jongdae was right to be cautious right now because you were still at a point where you wanted to rip their balls off.

You didn’t understand how they worked. You didn’t understand why they left each other on dangerous planets. Baekhyun wasn’t the first one. Ha!  Even Yixing was not the first one.

You turned around to face Jongdae, whose blond hair triggered you. He was still standing in the airlock, and he seemed jerky, which also triggered you. It was for Jongdae that you left the military. You met that cheeky, dark haired, dark eyed boy, whose smile was simply stunning, and whose voice was enticing. You were adamant about holding his hand as people tried to talk you out of that idea. Your family, your commanders, everyone kept talking you that he meant trouble.

And you ignored all of them, and boarded this damned ship, with all its damned crew, and all of that happened to you? It was all on you.

About three months into your new journey, Junmyeon asked you to compute coordinates for a small planet that did not deserve a name. It was planet 0921, and although it was a new thing for you (at least aboard that vessel – you did that countless times in military), it wasn’t weird enough to ponder on that.

Planet turned out to be rigged with electricity-based deadly traps. Which turned out to be quite lethal (none of the crew died, but sensors read-outs stated enough charge to fry human’s brain in a split of a second).

And they left him. Jongdae. The crew brought you back and asked for go-no-go coordinates, and you escaped that trap of a planet. Only in hyperspace, you realized that Jongdae wasn’t aboard.

Long story short, Yixing had to put you down with sedatives, because you’ve been a threat not only to the crew but also to the integrity of the ship. And ship’s implosion in hyperspace is not the desired result for anyone. It’s one of the most horrible ways to go.

They kept you down for some time. You didn’t know how long it was. You think weeks, because of the degeneration of muscles that you experienced when you finally left the make-shift hospital quarters.

But Jongdae was waiting just outside of the air lock’s gate. He was blond, and his eyes were shining much more than they used to, now laced with golden sparks. He was much more hyper, much more jerky – but it was Jongdae. You fell into his arms, and a painful charge went through your body, frying little hairs on your hands. The smell of burning hair was nauseating, and Jongdae jerked back - away from you.

“Sorry,” he mused sheepishly, looking down.” I still don’t control it.”

You looked at him horrified. He was oblivious to the fact that his hair changed into a halo around his hair, so galvanized was his body.

The new Jongdae was still cheeky, but he was also impatient and much more restless, much more feverish. He was hard to keep down, hard to keep occupied, his mind jumping from one idea to another.

You hated that. You hated that with all your heart. He might have come back with new power, but he came back scarred, with a certain disability. He laughed your concerns off, but you knew that you were right. You pleaded with them not to send another one for the mission.

Next one was Jongin. The planet was numbered 0114, and it was the only one circling around Wolf-Rayet star. The whole planetary system was empty, but it wasn’t surprising. No one would want to find themselves with a black hole as a neighbour. With a star in its last stage of life.

A rocky planet was empty and haunted, and Jongin was the same when they came back for him a month later. They didn’t even touch the ground of the planet, Jongin appeared out of thin air, his hand like a vice on your shoulder.

You screamed, and immediately the air in the bridge was charged – till the point where every metal surface was kicking with electricity upon touching. Jongdae attacked Jongin because he acted before he could understand what he was seeing.

Jongin ignored him, pleading you to go back to go-no-go. His eyes were empty, screaming volumes of the horrors he experienced.

Jongdae took to accompanying Kyungsoo in machinery-room. You saw him playing with electricity, cutting cables open to feel the current flow through his veins. Kyungsoo didn’t complain, using Jongdae to work dangerous equipment or to move the fuel cells.

Jongin lost most of his laughter. You remembered him as that carefree child, but now he was mostly seen in front of the hyperspace map or screens – contemplating the space. His body was inside the ship, but his mind was amongst stars. Even talking with him was chilling, because he seemed only to pay half attention to what was happening around him. The rest of the crew had to force him to eat, sleep, wash – because his mind didn’t deem it important.

But he could sense both black holes and dying stars from great distances. Which was downright creepy.

You saw him one day standing in front of the screen, with tears streaming down his cheeks. He didn’t flinch when you laid your hand on his shoulder.

“It’s dead,” he whispered, in a voice so haunted that you felt chills go down your spine. “That star. It’s dead.”

You later realized he was talking about the Wolf-Rayed star, the sun of planet 0114. He felt it collapse, a galaxy away.

You begged again – not to make another of the crew suffer.

Next planet was 1127. The main star was a red giant, and the planet was the closest to the star. If you ever saw planet looking like hell, it was that planet. It was barren, rigged with volcanoes, with holes of natural oil burning without an end.

When Chanyeol was left there, you said to Junmyeon that he was going to come back with anger issues. Junmyeon looked at you without a word, and you wanted to shake him, you wanted to fist your hands into his collar and ask why.

But you didn’t, and you left the conference room, seeing Jongin just outside of airlock. He looked both lost and not. His legs were wandering, but his face showed that he wasn’t there. You refused to look at him as you stormed to your room.

You always deemed Kyungsoo the most stable out of them. You thought that he might be the one to talk to. So one day you walked down to the machinery room, with bouncy Jongdae at your side. Jongdae sat down over the damaged circuit, putting it back together with his bare hands, while you talked with Kyungsoo.

He refused to talk to Junmyeon. He refused to acknowledge your concerns.

“We have to do it,” he whispered, looking away.

Chanyeol came back with fiery eyes and fiery temper. They made Yixing sedate him for weeks on end. Then they made him sit in the closed room like one would do with a wild animal – waiting for him to get a hang of his power. He burned through dozens of beds before he stopped having nightmares, but you still suspect that Yixing used chemical enhancements to stop him from dreaming at all.

Yixing was next. And Baekhyun was the last victim.

“They will come back broken. You know that“ you said bitterly. You didn’t have to add “like you” because he knew that. Jongdae tried to smile, and you wished you could touch him. Just touch. You didn’t ask for something more intimate. At this point, you only wanted to be able to touch him.

Because in contrary to his words, he never took the reign of his power. It was the power that led him, making it impossible to touch him.

“We have to that,” he echoed Kyungsoo’s words, and you wondered if he eavesdropped when you talked with Kyungsoo. Or if that was their belief generally.

Your com beeped, and your military training was enough for you to answer it without hesitation. You saw how Jongdae’s eyes fell to the ground, and his shoulders sagged. You couldn’t find it in you to cheer him up.

“Speak,” you called into your com, and over the static (Jongdae was deranging the connection, but you couldn’t blame him because he didn’t control it), you heard Sehun calling you back on the bridge.

It was time to get Yixing back. You tried not to think about the half-of-a-man that was going to come back. You liked Yixing. Which part of him was going to be missing? What was that they were sacrificing their personhood for?

You walked to the airlock, and as you passed Jongdae, he moved to grab your hand, and you jumped away in terror.

It was nauseating. The realization that you feared being touched by Jongdae. The pain in his eyes, when he saw that destroyed you, but you couldn’t say anything. You didn’t have anything to say.

“I…” You wanted to say that you are sorry. Or maybe that you loved him. “I have to go.”

You escaped, feeling how it broke your heart.


	3. Chapter 3

Planet 1007 looked the most inviting out of those you left crew members on. It had great expansions of forests and plains, deep blue oceans, white mountains, and it was far enough from system’s star to have perfect living conditions. You were quite sure that Old Earth looked just like it before it was destroyed by humans.

The catch with Planet 1007? Everything – from water, through greenery till atmosphere was poisonous. You could still remember the burn of your breathing ducts when you opened your gas mask before ship’s system cleared the air.

Everyone was gathered on the bridge, looking at the display, distrustfully eyeing this beautiful planet. You could tell that no one wanted to land there.  But you’ve already sent the entry coordinates to Sehun – and he was flying your ship with jaw set.

“We are going to break the barrier.” You said in the silence of the bridge, and you could hear crew reacting to your words, sitting down and strapping themselves.

“Atmosphere in 30 seconds,” confirmed Sehun, and you check approach angle – good enough, but it was clear that Sehun doesn’t have the military training. Precision was not his forte.

Hull protested upon breach. Your adrenaline levels jumped and pain in your side sparked anew. You thought that it was already healed, but apparently, it wasn’t. Nonetheless, you pulled up ship’s scans to see the damage – you couldn’t have fissures in the hull – you couldn’t have that air coming into the ship. You realized that Kyungsoo left his seat to hover over you reading the charts with you. Suddenly he reached over you to enlarge one of the images.

“We’ll have to find a dock,” you said quietly when you realized that skull around the third engine was covered with micro damages. Kyungsoo shook his head and closed his eyes, realizing how lethal that could prove to be. You knew you had to keep quiet about it. If Jongdae was careful on Planet 0506 nothing would have happened. But he wasn’t. None of them ever was.

You shook your head to push that thought away. Nothing could be done about it now, and you had to make sure you wouldn’t crash on the side of the planet. Landing coordinates were already sent to Sehun’s control panel, but you checked his approach. Again, close enough, but not precise enough.

You only wished he wouldn’t kill Yixing on his way down.

The planet was getting bigger and bigger – you no longer saw its shape, which meant you are about to land.

The landing was not as smooth as it should be, but it could be blamed on uneven terrain – there was no human-made landing zone.

You sat in silence as Sehun powered down the engines, and you commended him for not turning them off. You would be ok with wasting a few fuel cells if it meant that you got out of the atmosphere of this planet quicker. You could nearly feel how the poisonous air tried to get inside of the vessel. It probably was getting inside already, through fissures around the third engine. That stress coming from that knowledge once more awakened the pain in your side.

“We should look for Yixing,” said Minseok finally, and you realized no one moved from the bridge. Even the reckless ones – Chanyeol and Jongdae were sitting put. One might have thought that those with powers would be first to act.

You turned around in your chair and you faced Junmyeon feeling how fear overwhelmed you. Chanyeol and Jongdae. Chanyeol and Jongdae – two people with very dangerous powers who didn’t control their powers. Even the littlest spark of electricity in the poisonous environment could lead to electrical current mighty enough to kill everything in the vicinity. And the smallest spark of flame could mean massive detonation. When the air is filled to the brim with flammable particles – it’s a ticking bomb.

And you knew that that air was sipping through the cracks.

Kyungsoo squeezed your arm, and you noticed how Jongdae eyed his hand. Jongdae’s jealousy was the last thing you needed right now.

“Right. We have to find him as quickly as possible, and get out.” Kyungsoo was louder than usual, and you thought it was to make sure that you wouldn’t say a word. “I will go to search for Yixing.”

“You don’t have to,” laughed Sehun. “He is knocking on the door.”

You turned around, and indeed, on the feed which Sehun pulled up on the display Yixing was standing just outside the vessel.

“Well,” mused Junmyeon. You could hear a smile in his voice.” Turn on the quarantine procedures.”

Minseok entered a command into his system and airlocks started to close, leaving open one route for Yixing to follow – straight to the infirmary. He would decontaminate himself first, and only then he would be able to meet the rest of the crew. And you’d see what happened to him.

You saw the gates open, and  Yixing didn’t wait for stairs to fully distend, jumping onto the ramp, and pulling himself up. You watched him, wanting to know what would be wrong with him. And he gave you a clear sign of his changed character immediately.

Instead of following the route of the quarantine, he came to the first closed airlock and overrode safety locks. The breach was announced on the bridge with a siren, but you all just looked in terror how Yixing just pushed through, probably contaminating everything around him.

You were all going to die.

You realize that Chanyeol jumped to his feet, and you hit the safety belt’s buckle on your chest, and you stood up as well. You could already see the flame in Chanyeol’s eyes, and you could taste the electricity in the air. Either Yixing would kill you with this planet’s poisonous air, or Chanyeol’s flame would do the job, or  Jongdae’s electrical currents – and if everything else failed you’d kill them all yourself.

“Chanyeol, Jongdae out!” you shouted, showing them airlock leading to private quarters, opposite to where Yixing was coming from. Because his route showed that he was coming to the bridge. They both looked at you and you could see red sparkles in Chanyeol’s eyes and golden in Jongdae’s, and fear grabbed at your throat. They looked inhuman.

“Out, dickheads!” growled Kyungsoo, and you saw how panic seeped through the rest of the crew. They probably didn’t yet see why Chanyeol and Jongdae were dangerous, but if both you and Kyungsoo saw them that way, it meant it _had to be really dangerous_.

Jongin appeared behind Chanyeol and grabbed him by his nape – the both disappeared before anyone can react. One threat was gone.

In the corner of your eye, you saw Sehun putting on a protective glove, and it hit you – why haven’t you thought about it earlier? No one wanted to touch Jongdae because barest touch released electrical current into your body, but if one touched him through isolator – there wouldn’t be a problem.

But it was too late, Yixing came onto the bridge running. He looked mad, acid burns visible on his arms, clothes ripped up. But his eyes were green, deep green of jungle plants – and it freaked you out. Was he a walking poison?

He saw Jongdae, whose blond hair turned into a halo, and he came to him without a moment of hesitation, his hand grabbing Jongdae’s neck, and you screamed, leaping forward.

It was Yixing who screamed.

It stopped you in your tracks, and it stopped everyone around – except for Yixing, who hauled Jongdae forward. Before you got yourself back together, Yixing was grabbing you, hand on the back of your neck, and he pushed you against Jongdae.

“Now kiss.” It was the last thing you heard before your face was literally smashed against Jongdae’s. The pain of your nose hitting his cheek cleared your mind, but it was Jongdae who was the first one to realize what was happening.

His hands grabbed your jaw, and he kissed you, tongue immediately pushing between your lips because you were too zoned out to properly react.

It didn’t hurt. Jongdae was not frying your brain, he was not burning your skin nor hair, he was not hurting you. The realization was like a punch to your gut. You mewled, your hands coming up and you grabbed his jaw. It was still familiar, but it’s been so long since you could do that. You kissed him back, oblivious to the whole world, you kissed him, going up on your toes, trying to get as close as possible to him, not knowing how much you _wanted_ to do that. His hands from your face went down, and he also tried to revisit places he once freely roamed.

Yixing grunted over you, and the sound was pained. You could feel that Jongdae was being forcibly removed from your hold – it was Yixing who dragged him back. Yixing screamed again, pushing you away, and you lost your balance, falling down. Yixing pushed Jongdae to the floor and finally let go of his neck.

“God,” mumbled Minseok, and you heard the overwhelming disgust in his voice. It choked him.

You quickly realized what was so disgusting. First, the horrible smell of burning human cells came to you, invading your nostrils choking you as well. Then you saw Yixing’s hand. The one he held Jongdae with. It was black, with red undertones, the meat of his palm showing. The guilt that hit you was overwhelming.

“Yixing, oh my god, Yixing,” you whispered with your throat constricted, and you scrambled to your feet, but Junmyeon was quicker to get to Yixing. He grabbed his arm and shook him.

“Why did you do that! What is wrong with you!” Junmyeon screaming was a rare sight. Yixing pried his hand off his arm and shook his head.

“Damn, that hurts,” he chuckles, clearly in pain.

“You moron!’ scolded Kyungsoo, who came with first aid kit. Not that it would help with a third-degree burn. You glanced at Jongdae who looked at you, seemingly broken.

“Guys, it’s ok really. I’m sorry I was so dramatic, I just wanted to let them touch for the first time in a while.” Yixing was laughing, and he didn’t seem concerned at all. Even though his voice was still full of pain. He looked around, and he probably saw that no one caught on. “I am good, you see?”

He held up his burned hand, and you could all see how the burned zone was getting smaller, skin cells regenerating until there was no sign left of the burn. Acid burns were also already gone.

When you looked up, Yixing was smiling – and it was the first thing in weeks that gave you hope.


	4. Chapter 4

As it turned out, having Yixing back, with that kind of abilities, was not much of blessing. Yixing healed. Himself, those around him. But it hurt him in the process. As he explained speeding up healing process meant experiencing all the pain that would come from the healing during the recovery time condensed into one excruciating wave of pain which lasted for the whole time he was healing someone.

You couldn’t even imagine it.

You liked Yixing. You’ve always liked him. So you tried asking him what happened to him. He simply ignored you and you understood that he was just too awkward to refuse to talk about it verbally. The familiar pain came back and he inhaled loudly. It startled you and when you looked at him, Yixing’s eyes were pleading.

“Please, don’t feel pain,” might be the weirdest plea you’ve ever heard but it didn’t make it less horrifying.

Yixing came back being able to _feel pain_. Physical and mental. And while one could be dealt with, he wasn’t able to cure mental pain. And in the crew with so many broken people ability like that was a curse. You realized that Yixing was withstanding the pain of touching Jongdae to cure his mental pain, the one which was way more potent than the pain of being electrocuted.

He started waking you up in the middle of the night, pained tears in the corners of his eyes. He dragged you to Jongdae’s cabin and he kept his hands steady on your and Jongdae’s nape, even though his skin was burning, while you rocked crying Jongdae back to sleep.

He once woke you up in the middle of the night and instead of bringing you to Jongdae, Yixing took you to secondary bridge. You never used it but it was ready to be used will something horrible happened. Jongin was there, standing still illuminated by projector as he gazed on the system he got his powers from.

You understood that Jongin was in pain. In pain greater than usual, considering how Yixing was kneeling just outside of the air-lock. Yixing was desperate, that much was clear, but you could understand what logic led his actions. If you could soothe Jongdae’s pain, you might be able to soothe Jongin’s. You didn’t hesitate, walking onto the bridge, and you hugged the man. He didn’t flinch, he didn’t react, but you had nothing else you could do, so you held him saying nothing until he pushed you away and walked out.

You walked behind him and you saw how Jongin kneeled next to Yixing who was sleeping on the floor, how he carefully cradled the healer in arms. You expected the strike of electricity as they both disappeared.

“Before you drop anyone else we need to repair the engine,” you said firmly, ignoring the fact that Kyungsoo just looked away. You dragged him along to plead Junmyeon. The captain looked exhausted. He looked as exhausted as you felt and you idly wondered if Yixing woke him up as well. Maybe he was the one to calm down Chanyeol. “Junmyeon, _please_.”

If you had to beg, you’d beg. You knew that soon enough Kyungsoo was going to be dropped. You couldn’t travel on a damaged vessel without the main technician. You simply couldn’t. And it didn’t matter that said technician seemed to have a different opinion.

Yixing started spending more time with Chanyeol, which surprised you. Why would he willingly spend time with one of the broken members of the crew? Wasn’t Chanyeol hurting as well? Yixing didn’t smile when he heard those questions, his face falling instead.

“Chanyeol doesn’t hurt,” he said carefully and seeing the lack of understanding, he exhaled and explained: “Chanyeol doesn’t know pain, doesn’t understand pain. He is angry all the time, anger is the only emotion he can feel.”

And with nightmares having Jongdae, unresponsive Jongin, that revelation broke you the most.

“We are not going to find a dock,” said Junmyeon when you bothered him again. You expected this answer, but it still made you angry. Rage surged through your veins, pain exploding in your side. You were ready to jump, you were on the verge of strangling the captain when Kyungsoo grabbed your arm and hauled you out of the meeting room. You didn’t struggle when he pushed you against a partition just outside the air-lock. Your feet tangled into the cords, a weird cracking sound filled your ears and you saw Kyungsoo looking around eyes wide in panic.

Was something happening to the ship? The hull seemed to be vibrating.

“You need to calm down, you need to calm down now!” pleaded Kyungsoo and it seemed urgent. Of course, it was urgent, he didn’t have time to waste on you when something wrong was happening with the ship. You exhaled, fingers squeezing your side to massage the tissue. This old pain was coming back at the worst possible times. Kyungsoo searched your face and when he saw that you were no longer on the verge he let you go and immediately walked away.

You tasted the galvanization of the air and you turned your head to see Jongdae disappearing behind the corner on the other side of the corridor. It was starting to drive you crazy.

Jongdae, Junmyeon, Yixing, all of them, this ship, their quest – it was too much.

*

Baekhyun came back with white eyes. That was the first thing you saw through the feed as he walked to the infirmary. He didn’t try to break the route the way Yixing did. He walked slowly, hand on the wall and he looked calm.

You observed him biting your thumb and ignoring the pain in your side. You diagnosed yourself with neuralgia because nothing was wrong with your side but you kept feeling pain in stressful situations. And now you were stressing over Baekhyun and his yet unknown ability and disability.

The quarantine went without a hitch and soon Yixing invited the crew to meet him. He was still in the quarantine ward, sitting cross-legged on the bed while glowing orb suspiciously looking like miniature sun orbited around his head.

“Baekhyun,” called Yixing quietly and Baekhyun’s head snapped to him. “The crew came to welcome you back.”

“Oh, I see,” he said, smiling just like he used to. He laughed. “Even though I can’t see anymore.”

You should have guessed that. White eyes? Hand on the wall? Baekhyun’s new power, light, took away his eyes’ ability to reflect light – which meant he couldn’t see. Baekhyun’s new power turned him blind.

Your head snapped to Yixing in horror because it was a first time power came with a physical disability, but he only shook his head.

“Oh, even Yixing can’t cure me,” laughed Baekhyun easily, his unseeing eyes focusing on the wall. The orb above his head split and now two of them were whirling in the air. “Jongdae, are they beautiful? Tell me.”

You choked back tears and you walked out of the ward as Jongdae softly assured Baekhyun that stars he produced were stunning.

*

Jongin was restless. You were travelling to drop Kyungsoo and unfortunately, his planet was just next to the star system in which Jongin got his powers. The star system just next to a black hole and dead Wolf-Rayet star.

You learned that talking to him, even though he rarely answered, took his mind off the dead star – which allowed Yixing to get some sleep. The space travel didn’t need your skills so you slept during the day, at night you talked to Jongin or you were holding Jongdae.

You were walking back to your cabin when you heard Baekhyun call you. He could no longer do his duties on board so he tended to wander the vessel, learning how to live his life without sight. He was positive, but according to Yixing, his pain was just kept at bay, threatening to drown him the moment he lets himself taste the bitterness.

“Baekhyun?” you asked, not sure what he might be doing up at this hour.

“Did you know that the light is still there even if you turn it off. It’s here, in the walls. I can see it. I can see how it flows and how it sparks when you turn on the lamps. I can see how it changes when you are using the screens. I see light in Chanyeol’s chest and I see light on the tips of Jongdae’s fingers,” he said as if he wasn’t even talking to you. It scares you and of course, providence chose this moment to push the vessel into some kind of magnetic field. The hull creaked and your stress level spiked suddenly, pain exploding in your side. You leaned against the wall breathing heavily, feeling how the ship vibrates. Baekhyun seemed unfazed as he kept talking. “I see light in your mind and I see light in Junmyeon’s heart. I don’t see light in front of us.”

He left you with that, disappearing into the corridor, the sound of his steps haunting you.


	5. Chapter 5

Planet 0112 was brown. Brownish. Maybe maroon. Mostly dull. But read-outs did not bring anything substantial nor dangerous to your attention. You didn’t want to report that knowing that Junmyeon would let the crew go out and stretch their legs, especially with sensors confirming Earth-like atmosphere. Oxygen levels were off the chart and keeping crew inside the vessel would be, putting simply, a waste.

So it happened. The engines were turned off, ramps were opened, and the crew slowly went out. You weren’t surprised to see Chanyeol go out first, but seeing Jongdae leading Baekhyun out just behind him startled you. Baekhyun was wearing an isolating glove and he kept his hand on Jongdae’s shoulder.

Unsurprisingly Kyungsoo was the last one to go out, dazed Jongin at his side. It was Kyungsoo who dragged the jumper outside, but when he let go of his arm, Jongin just stopped, looking into space. You didn’t have to check that Jongin was staring where the Wolf-Rayet star should have been. You focused on the cautious mechanic. Kyungsoo trod carefully, looking around, eyebrows drawn close.

Yixing grunted and shot you an annoyed stare when your side started to hurt. You were worried, you couldn’t help it! Even though this planet didn’t seem as dangerous as they did usually, you knew that Kyungsoo wouldn’t come back unscarred. It didn’t work this way.

You glanced at Junmyeon. He, Sehun and Minseok were sitting together, enjoying the fresh air. You didn’t know who was the next in line, but you expected that you’d go to the next dropping zone immediately after leaving Kyungsoo.

A loud crack followed by mad laughter caught your attention. Chanyeol, Jongdae and Baekhyun were apparently sparring? Baekhyun was sitting cross-legged on the ground and Jongdae’s hair was the familiar halo around his head. He was the one laughing madly, although Baekhyun joined in cheerfully when Jongdae brought his hands up, bluish sparks appearing between his fingers and he brought his arms down _bring down a lightning out of the fucking nowhere._ A scream caught in your throat and you stared horrified – until you realized that Baekhyun somehow gathered the lightning and made a star out of it.

Looking at them now you could see various bigger or smaller glowing orbs whirling around Baekhyun. Some of them were yellow, some were bluish, some were reddish and you realized the colour depended on whose energy was used to form it.

“There is nothing living here,” you heard in your ear. It was Yixing his voice shaky. “No plants, no animals.”

You turned around to reassure him but his eyes caught your attention. They were bright, saturated green and they jumped weirdly from side to side as if he was looking for any life forms. You weren’t sure what was happening to him, but given the recent history of the crew you were sure – nothing good. He started shaking as if he was going into a seizure but he was still standing. Horrible smell of burning skin invaded your nostrils and you unconsciously tried to find the source of the stink. His hand. The hand that repeatedly burned while he held Jongdae was burning without a reason. But you still saw skin getting red and breaking, slowly turning black as meat on his hand appeared – you finally screamed when his pinkie fell off his hand.

Few things happened right after each other. Jongdae hearing your terrified scream assumed Yixing was trying to hurt you and without a single thought, he shot a lightning out of his fingers – a lightning that grazed your side and hit Yixing right in the solar plexus. When his back hit the ground, he no longer had a hand.

But Jongdae wasn’t done. His rage galvanized the air around you and when you turned around to him, his eyes were pure gold and focused on ragdoll like Yixing on the ground. Who now was really seizing.

“No, Jongdae, stop!” yelled Junmyeon. Your side was burning but it was a shock that stopped you from doing anything and you just watched how your boyfriend attacked again. Chanyeol tried to stop him, burning his hands when he tried grabbing Jongdae’s arm, Baekhyun tried to gather the energy, but Jongdae’s rage was just too pure.

It was Jongin who teleported Yixing out of the hit zone – Jongdae’s lightning hit the ground, electricity flowing in every direction painting burned circular pattern in the dirt, raising small hairs on your body. Silence filled the space and you stared at Jongdae, afraid of the power he held. He couldn’t look at you, only now coming back to himself.

That’s when ground moved. It didn’t shake the planet like an earthquake would. No, it was different. First, the place Jongdae’s lightning struck went down. Maybe five centimetres. You should have started running then, but the crew stared at this phenomenon wordlessly. Second later area between you and Baekhyun rose, again maybe five centimetres. And then the ground just started moving, one section dropping deep down to the core of the planet, next shooting up into the sky.

“Run!” screamed Sehun, the last conscious of you, and it woke you up. You started running, fearing that every next step would be wrong and you’d fall to your death. Your side was hurting madly but you gritted your teeth and focused on the ship.

Which second later disappeared into the ground. You tripped, your other side exploding with pain. Now the pain was overwhelming, it felt like something was trying to split you in half sawing your waist. You heard the rest of the crew scream at each other but their words were muffled as if coming from afar.

Strong hands grabbed you and yanked up, your feet hitting collapsed rocks. You´ve heard Junmyeon scream at someone not to do anything if they can´t do anything useful and you realized it was Sehun who was dragging you. The ground under your feet shook and it shot both you and Sehun up into the sky. Both of you fell down, desperately trying to hold onto the moving rock. You saw Chanyeol bursting into flames as he jumped from another raised formation. Sehun was swearing quietly under his nose and you just wanted this madness to end. Lightning zapped near the ground and you heard Jongdae calling your name desperately. Among this madness, both Baekhyun and Kyungsoo remained stoic. Baekhyun was still sitting cross-legged on the ground, little orbs orbiting lazily around his head, while Kyungsoo stood frozen in his spot, probably realizing that he was to be left alone on this wild planet.

Just why?

“Thank God,” murmured Sehun, just as cold fingers circled your wrist. Suddenly everything around you disappeared and you reappeared on the bridge. Sehun immediately sat down in his chair, but you couldn’t, despair getting better of you. Jongin disappeared.

“We can’t do it,” you said quietly on the verge of hyperventilating. Sehun snapped his head to you and what you saw in his eyes was fear heavily laced with desperation.

“We can do it,” he said loudly and surely, but his eyes said something different. “We will do it.”

A wild spasm surged through your body just as the ship shook. Sehun jumped out of his seat to push you into yours. He strapped you in, squatting next to you. He grabbed your head and he made sure you were looking at him when he said:

“We will do it, but you need to calm down!” another spasm shook you and the vessel, Sehun dropped to his knees. “Please! Calm down, we have to escape, now!”

Jongin appeared with Junmyeon and Minseok.

“How is Jongdae?” asked Sehun urgently, turning his head to newcomers.

“He is good, I am sure Jongin will bring him back in a second,” answered Junmyeon immediately, coming to you, kneeling just next to Sehun, who swiftly slid back into his seat and turned on his com. Junmyeon put his hands on your knees. “It’s all going to be alright, ok? Trust me, it’s going to be ok, we just need you to calm down.”

He seemed so sure and his eyes staring into yours were unwavering. You believed him. You believed Junmyeon that everything was going to be alright. So you wiped out tears that you weren’t sure when started falling and you turned your com on to calculate go-no-go. You were still deep inside the planet but they assured you everything would be alright.

Sensors told you that fourth engine took damage, that combined with already wonky third engine didn’t paint nice future for you, but you still believed. Jongin brought back Chanyeol and Baekhyun who lost all of his orbs but seemed happy to be back on the bridge. Jongin snatched Sehun’s isolating glove and jumped to get back Jongdae.

“Engines are ready and force fields are ready as well,” you reported, trying not to think about lack of runway. How were you going to do this? One last spark of electricity announced Jongin’s return.

“Start the engine,” said jumper quietly, leaning against a wall. You were preoccupied with ensuring that Jongdae was ok and you nearly dismissed it. You couldn’t start the engine, not _underground_.

But Sehun did. He started the engine and pulled up force fields. Nervous pain zipped through your system and you turned around to scream at him. That’s when outside read-out disappeared. Half of your system sensor’s went black and you stared at your screen feeling how your heart pounded in your chest.

It took longer than usual. You didn’t know if it was because of the distance or because Jongin was moving through space something as big as a whole ship. You were too scared to even look away. Suddenly sensors came back, reporting that you were far outside planet’s atmosphere. A loud thump behind you announced that Jongin collapsed.

*

It took Yixing one week to grow back his hand. The sole fact he was able to do was both impressing and nauseating. You were appointed to take care of infirmary, so you spent the week with unconscious Jongin, sedated Yixing (the pain was too strong for him to deal) and cheerful Baekhyun. During the day he usually babbled and joked.

At night he kept talking about light and darkness.

Jongdae slept at the infirmary, not being able to touch you, but finding solace in your proximity. Days he was spending in the machinery room. No one of your merry band was allowed outside when you reached planet 0412.


End file.
